Handkerchief
['hæŋkətʃɪf] or ['hæŋkɚtʃɪf]
Definition
(noun.) a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory.
Typist: Osborn--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine and elegant, carried for wiping the face or hands.
(n.) A piece of cloth shaped like a handkerchief to be worn about the neck; a neckerchief; a neckcloth.
Editor: Noreen
Definition
n. a piece of linen silk or cotton cloth for wiping the nose &c.: a neckerchief.—Throw the handkerchief to call upon next—from the usage in a common game.
Edited by Carlos
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream of handkerchiefs, denotes flirtations and contingent affairs. To lose one, omens a broken engagement through no fault of yours. To see torn ones, foretells that lovers' quarrels will reach such straits that reconciliation will be improbable if not impossible. To see them soiled, foretells that you will be corrupted by indiscriminate associations. To see pure white ones in large lots, foretells that you will resist the insistent flattery of unscrupulous and evil-minded persons, and thus gain entrance into high relations with love and matrimony. To see them colored, denotes that while your engagements may not be strictly moral, you will manage them with such ingenuity that they will elude opprobrium. If you see silk handkerchiefs, it denotes that your pleasing and magnetic personality will shed its radiating cheerfulness upon others, making for yourself a fortunate existence. For a young woman to wave adieu or a recognition with her handkerchief, or see others doing this, denotes that she will soon make a questionable pleasure trip, or she may knowingly run the gauntlet of disgrace to secure some fancied pleasure.
Checker: Thomas
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. A small square of silk or linen used in various ignoble offices about the face and especially serviceable at funerals to conceal the lack of tears. The handkerchief is of recent invention; our ancestors knew nothing of it and intrusted its duties to the sleeve. Shakespeare's introducing it into the play of 'Othello ' is an anachronism: Desdemona dried her nose with her skirt as Dr. Mary Walker and other reformers have done with their coattails in our own day—an evidence that revolutions sometimes go backward.
Checker: Witt
Examples
- The gentleman did it, with a handkerchief and a glass of water. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- She put the handkerchief to her eyes once. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- He had a red-and-black handkerchief around his neck. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- I have only one pocket-handkerchief, he added, but if I had twenty, I would offer you each one. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- As Mrs. Bardell said this, she applied her handkerchief to her eyes, and went out of the room to get the receipt. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Tears rolled silently down Rosamond's cheeks; she just pressed her handkerchief against them, and stood looking at the large vase on the mantel-piece. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Mr. Chadband, at last seeing his opportunity, makes his accustomed signal and rises with a smoking head, which he dabs with his pocket-handkerchief. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Is my handkerchief hanging out of my pocket, my dear? Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Well, Thquire,' he returned, taking off his hat, and rubbing the lining with his pocket-handkerchief, which he kept inside for the purpose. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Mr. Yorke raised his hat, wiped his forehead with his handkerchief. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Round one of his hands he had a handkerchief wrapped, which was mottled all over with bloodstains. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- With a shaking hand, Bradley took out his handkerchief and wiped his brow. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- When I came to I found that it was still bleeding, so I tied one end of my handkerchief very tightly round the wrist and braced it up with a twig. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- My bandanna handkerchief--one of six beauties given to me by my lady--was handy in my pocket. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- The Professor found that so touching that he would have been glad of his handkerchief, if he could have got at it. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- There had been no handkerchiefs to work upon, for two or three days, and the dinners had been rather meagre. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Wipes,' replied Master Bates; at the same time producing four pocket-handkerchiefs. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Every stitch Daisy's patient little fingers had put into the handkerchiefs she hemmed was better than embroidery to Mrs. March. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Ah, you're a-staring at the pocket-handkerchiefs! Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Have you you both got nice pocket handkerchiefs? Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- I do not know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which she used. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- How they cheered, and cried, and waved handkerchiefs. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Pocket-handkerchiefs out, all! Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- And now come here, and I'll show you how to take the marks out of the handkerchiefs. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Some handkerchiefs, all hemmed, said Beth. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- They drew up to the table, exchanged their handkerchiefs for napkins, and in ten minutes were all right again. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Some of his clothes, papers, handkerchiefs, whips and caps, fishing-rods and sporting gear, were still there. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Her hair was torn and ragged, and her arms were bound to her sides with sashes and handkerchiefs. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Pocket-handkerchiefs out! Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- How nice my handkerchiefs look, don't they? Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Checker: Polly